


Pas de Chat

by marielauder



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Ballet, Dorks in Love, F/M, Falling In Love, Fluff, Kinda, Love Confessions, Marichat | Adrien Agreste as Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Minor Injuries, Piano, Secret Identity, Unrequited Love, ballet dancer marinette, composer adrien, dance, reverse love square, sorta - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:07:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,204
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29328279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marielauder/pseuds/marielauder
Summary: Chat Noir, an up and coming young composer, was offered the chance to collaborate in the creation of a new ballet with his muse, Marinette (a corps de ballet dancer), and he can’t contain himself. He'd been taken with ever since the first time he saw her dance at age 18. Now, he's 22 and has to get his act together. Fast.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 1
Kudos: 26





	1. Un

**Author's Note:**

> hi hi!! this chapter is short but all other chapters will be longer i promise!

Marinette didn’t consider herself the luckiest person on earth, but as her eyes scanned the cast list for the Paris Opera Ballet’s upcoming season, this thought was briefly challenged. In addition to her featured roles in the usuals (The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, and Romeo and Juliet), she found her name alongside the words lead dancer, words that she had spent her entire life working towards. Words that would change the course of her life forever. She allowed her eyes to move past these wonderful words to see the piece she would be lead dancer for.

“Untitled Original, huh,” she mused aloud, excitement edging into her voice as her best friend, Alya, approached the board to look for her own name.

“Yeah, girl. There’s some new composer on the scene who’s supposed to be some genius,” Alya mumbled absentmindedly scanning the list, eyes lighting up as she saw her name under Juliet. Marinette turned her full attention to the orange-haired beauty.

“A new composer?” 

“Yeah, apparently he’s going to be working with Philippe for a totally new piece, and it looks like it’s going to be all about you! Congrats, bug, you deserve it,” Alya smiled widely. “Look at us, fifteen years ago neither of us could even do a pirouette, and now we’re star dancers,” she sighed dreamily causing Marinette to giggle in response.

“It almost makes all the lost toenails worth it,” she joked, causing the two to bust into a fit of laughter at the gross memories of their shared foot trauma after years of dancing on pointe. As they calmed down, Marinette’s eyes drifted towards the cast list once more to see who this mysterious composer was that she would be working with. “What kind of composer is named Chat Noir?”

“The kind that doesn’t want all the credit? I dunno, from what I’ve heard, which isn’t much, the man keeps any real detail about himself private because he ‘wants the music to speak for itself,” the taller girl shrugged. “Pretty pretentious if you ask me, but if he landed this gig, I guess it spoke pretty loudly.” 

“I guess so…” Marinette trailed off, nervously biting her thumb as the two walked off in the direction of their dressing rooms. The pair walked in content silence for a bit as they revelled in their triumph and mentally prepared for their last show in the corps. They set their bags down in their usual places in front of the mirror to start their respective pre show routines. Unfortunately, the silence was broken harshly as the blunette’s  _ favorite  _ company member pushed her way into the dressing room and slammed her purse on the vanity. “Something wrong, Lila?”

“What? Wrong? Of course, nothing is wrong. I’m just so super excited about dancing in the corps for the fourth year in a row while people who can barely pas de deux are moving on up and working with Chat Noir! It’s so awesome, isn’t it!” Marinette brushed her comment off as she brushed blush on her cheeks with a smile.

“I see you’re happy about the cast list?” She smirked, making eye contact with the vixen in the mirror.

“Ecstatic.”

oOo

Adrien swallowed thickly in a weak attempt to disguise and downplay his excitement. He was, at present, seated quite comfortably in his father’s box in the theatre where the Paris Opera Ballet performed. His best friends, Kagami and Nino, were perched on either side of him, and both shared amused looks, urging a scoff out of the blond.

“Is something funny, you two?” He questioned.

“Yes, something is…” Kagami barked out a laugh and shot Adrien a pointed glance.

“You’re the something, dude. In case you didn’t get that,” Nino clarified. “You’re obsessed.”

“I am not obsessed, okay? I’m just… inspired by her,” the composer clarified.

“If by inspired you mean that you spend all of your free time thinking and dreaming about her or writing hypothetical classical pieces that you think she’d love dancing to in the metaphorical ‘someday’ you’ve created in your head, then yes. You are inspired by her. Pardon me if I think inspired lends itself pretty easily to obsessed. How many times have you seen this ballet?” Kagami finished as she snatched the playbill out of Adrien’s hands. He had, while she was talking, found his favorite dancer’s photo and was staring at it longingly as opposed to listening.

“Five,” he replied in a small voice.

“Sorry, what was that? I didn’t quite hear you with the orchestra warming up and such…”

“Five!” 

“Ah yes, you’re absolutely, one hundred percent not obsessed with my girlfriend’s roommate,” Nino teased as Adrien’s face turned a lovely shade of scarlet. Luckily for him, the lights in the theatre flickered, indicating the start of the show was upon them.

“Shhhhh, I wanna hear,” he murmured which only egged his friends on.

“Right, like this isn’t your sixth time…” Kagami nudged his arm as he settled in to watch the show. His heart raced as the curtain rose, revealing six dancers in matching costumes. To the unobsessed eye, they were just corps dancers, but to Adrien, only one girl, the girl on the far right, was dancing. His eye remained fixated on her, the pale blunette, for the entire show. If she was onstage, he saw no one else. No one else felt the music as she did. It was as if she breathed music and her body had no choice but to express it physically. 

  
Sure, other company members danced. They even danced well, but that’s all they did. She didn’t dance. She _felt._ He didn’t know how she had remained in the corps for almost four years. If it were up to him, every ballet would consist of her, and only her. Watching her move sparked melodies in his head, and he felt his fingers move against his thighs as if they were placed on piano keys. As the show came to a close and the curtain call began, he quite literally jumped out of his seat to applaud, and couldn’t contain his smile at the fact that he would soon be working directly with her. He promised himself that he would try his hardest to give this dancer everything she deserved. 


	2. deux

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> in which they drink and adrien is hopeless. bless this man's heart

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hallo! thank you for reading!!!!!!! i've been wanting to write this forever... dont worry we meet chat next chapter ;)

Marinette’s feet ached as she shoved them into her coziest pair of boots. She loved her job, but sometimes after shows or long classes, she longed for an occupation that wouldn’t make her feel like her feet were rebelling against her body. The show went well, and now, she and her friends were in the process of returning to their civilian selves so they could go out and celebrate. She had just finished lacing her boots at the top of her calf when she heard Alya sigh dramatically.

“How is it that after a three hour ballet, you still look cute? It really isn’t fair to the rest of us,” she lamented jokingly gesturing to her own black sweatsuit (one that Marinette actually thought was super cute and flattering on the dancer’s body) and then gesturing to Marinette’s black knee high boots, matching tights, and red sweater dress. “One day, I’m gonna get you for that, bug.”

“Ah, the secret is in the  _ massive  _ fluffy socks I stuffed into these boots,” she teased. “Besides, you’re one to talk, I mean you always look like you jumped off of my instagram feed.” Marinette grabbed her purse as Alya tossed her hair over her shoulder and began to walk through the dressing room like a model on a runway. The remaining dancers in the room took this as a que to mimic reporters and photographers.

“Ms. Césaire!! Over here! Who are you wearing?” Mylene called out.

“Alya! Serving us just came from the gym realness!” Sabrina sighed.

“Somebody come get her, she’s too hot!” Chloe deadpanned, though a smile was present on her cold face. The blonde’s comment set the girls over the edge, their tableau breaking instantaneously as they devolved into a fit of laughter. 

“You guys are too much,” Marinette breathed, containing herself. The group, consisting of the blunette, Alya, Mylene, Chloe, Sabrina, and Alix rode the wave of their laughter out into the hallway where some boys in the company, Max, Kim, and Marc, were waiting for them, inquisitive looks painted on their faces. “Don’t worry about it, guys. So… where are we going tonight? I can’t speak for the rest of you, but since tomorrow is our only day off, I’m planning on having a goooooood time.” 

“Woah, bug. Who are you and what have you done with my sweet baby?” Alya wrapped her arm around Marinette’s shoulder, earning a laugh from the group. Before Marinette could retort, Chloe chimed in as the group walked out of the building into the street. 

“I may or may not have made reservations at The Davenport, but don’t think too much into it. I just didn’t want to drink cheap vodka at a dive bar…” the heiress trailed off self-consciously. 

“Sure you don’t, Chlo,” Sabrina smirked as the group walked together in the direction of the exclusive bar. The bar was only a block or two away from the theatre, so they walked in small groups, Marinette naturally breaking off to walk hand in hand with Alya.

“Soo… Did you invite Nino tonight?” She waggled her eyebrows suggestively. “You planning on celebrating with him, Juliet?”

“Alright alright, calm down. Yeah, ok, maybe I invited my  _ boyfriend  _ to come have drinks with us, and maybe he’s already on his way to the bar we might be going to tonight. What about it, Miss Lead Dancer?”

“Nothing  _ about  _ it… I just wanted to know if he was coming! He’s a good guy, Al, and you deserve a good guy,” she remarked, resting her head on Alya’s shoulder as the two rounded the corner, the bright, lights of The Davenport illuminating the street.

“Or you just wanted to know if his cute friend would be there…”

“Kagami?”

“Ok well she _is_ cute, but you know that’s not who I was talking about. Maybe someone who’s name rhymes with arrest?” She punctuated her question with a jab to Marinette’s side.

“Oh, Adrien? NOooo,I mean, yeah he’s cute, but I don’t see him that way. First of all, I barely know him, and second of all, I really think he’s just gonna be my friend. He seems like he would be a really good friend. Also, with our schedules, how would that even work? God knows how you and Nino do it.”

“With a whole lot of patience,” she chuckled humorlessly as their gang followed Chloe into the bar. The Davenport was a lush, high profile bar themed after the mid 1960’s. The floor was a black and white honeycomb tile that met dark turquoise walls, and geometric chandeliers hung from the ceiling, lighting up the bar just enough to see but no more than that. Marinette was glad she wore a nicer outfit because the place was extremely lush. She and her best friend settled together, drinks in hand, in a back corner where a few mustard couches were arranged nicely.

“To moving on up even though we can barely pas de deux!” The blunette cheered, thrusting her drink into the air.

“To moving on up!” Their glasses clinked before they each took a long swig. The women sunk comfortably into their couch and allowed themselves to relax for the first time in what felt like four years. 

oOo

The cold air of the night turned Adrien’s breath into pale clouds as his trio waited outside The Davenport. Nerves raced through his veins, and he shoved his hands in his pockets in an attempt to steady himself. He wasn’t planning on going out with Nino, but the musician was quite persuasive. Now, here they were. Outside of the posh bar, inside of which, held the dancer that drove him to create, his muse.

“Dude, take a breath. I don’t even know for sure if Marinette’s here,” Nino tried to get Adrien’s breathing to return to normal, but they both knew that was an impossible feat. “I texted Alya that we were here because I don’t really know how to get in…” He trailed off as his gaze fell on the very large bouncer guarding the door. “They’ll probably have to let us in?”

As the words left his mouth, the doors burst open to reveal a very lost looking Marinette. Adrien’s abnormal breath caught in his throat at the sight of her. Sure he had seen her onstage less than an hour ago, but that was from afar. Standing in the doorway, pivoting her head around in search of, well, them, she looked like a vision sent from his daydreams. Red cashmere hugged her arms and torso and hung loosely around her thighs, and in that moment, he had to suppress the urge to scream at the top of his lungs how he felt about her. He felt Nino grab his chin to shut his mouth, and snapped himself out of his trance.

“Hey, Marinette! Over here!” Nino waved in her direction to get her attention, and her face warmed instantly. She made eye contact as a smile stretched across her cheeks, and she leaned over to the bouncer, telling him to let them through. She talked back and forth with him for a bit, but her eyes never left his. A shiver ran down his spine, and she beckoned them over. Nino laughed and briskly put his hand on Adrien’s shoulder. “See you on the other side, man.” Casting one last nervous glance at Kagami, he followed Nino into The Davenport.

“Sorry, I couldn’t see you guys at first,” Marinette explained. “Alya sent me to get you with little to no instructions, so I was kind of confused,” she laughed.

“No worries!” Adrien shouted over the dull roar of the crowd. They arrived at the corner claimed by almost half the company of the Paris Opera Ballet, and he smirked when he noticed Chloe jump out of her seat to make room for Kagami. Adrien assessed the group in front of him and quickly began regretting his decision to come. It was clear that there were established dynamics: Nino and Alya chatting intimately, Sabrina, Kagami, and Chloe pretending not to enjoy each other’s company, Alix and Kim doing shots while Mylene, Max, and Marc watched in thinly masked, fascinated horror. 

Upon the realization that he was, in fact, an outsider, Adrien retreated in search of his drink of choice, a glass of whiskey, neat. Maybe, his hopes were too high for the possibilities this night held. He got to see her dance, and that was enough. As he waited for his drink, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine that the bar underneath his fingertips was his piano, and he began committing the piece he heard earlier in the night to memory.

“Having fun?” A melodic voice broke his concentration, and he whipped his head around to see Marinette with his drink in her hand. “Here,” she handed him the crystal glass. “The bartender seemed tired of trying to get your attention, so…” The pair shared an awkward laugh.

“Sorry about that, I just… I don’t come to places like this very often,” he covered, earning a smile from her.

“Me neither. Dancing for ten hours a day with a hangover is another level of pain that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” she punctuated her statement with a shot. “But I am off tomorrow. Hence the drinks.”

“Well that’s something to celebrate then,” he smiled politely and took a swig of his whiskey, the alcohol settling his nerves just enough. 

“You have no idea… I also got a promotion today, so another reason to celebrate.”

“Oh yeah?” He took another swig.

“Yeah. I got cast in an ‘untitled original’ piece working with some composer named Chat Noir…” She went quiet as she took another shot, and he followed her lead, not wanting her to drink alone. “Which is so good and so cool and so amazing and something I’ve been working towards for years, but…”

“But?” His interest piqued immensely at the mention of his alter ego.

“Buuuut, whAT kind of composer names themselves ‘Chat Noir?’ I mean it’s so theatrical and it sounds like it would be like, I don’t know, a superhero name or something. I guess… I guess I’m just worried that it’s all a joke or something… or that I’ll,” she hiccupped, and the blond finished his glass nervously. “That I’ll absolutely SUCk ass.” She laughed at her choice of words, the sound filling his warm mind (the whiskey was slowly making itself known). “Not suck ass, but liiiiiike suck a lot.” Adrien’s eyebrows furrowed.

“You’re amazing, Marinette.” Her eyes widened. 

“Uh…”

“Dancer! You’re an amazing dancer! I mean I saw the show tonight, and you were great. So I don’t think you’re gonna mess anything up,” he blabbed. The whiskey was apparently not calming him down enough, so he ordered another one.

“Oh, t-thank you, Agreste. I didn’t think anyone could me see. I MEAN see me,” she blushed and gestured to the now three empty shot glasses. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I was that far gone…” 

“I see you, Marinette,” he declared honestly. They let the moment hang between them for perhaps longer than it should before Adrien spoke again. “WELL! Congrats to you, lead dancer!” He raised his newly refilled glass in her direction, and she smiled briefly before she shot him a cloudy look.

“Did I tell you that-”

“Yes! Ahem, anyways congrats… Should we?” He nodded in the direction of their group as he took a swig, and she visibly, there is no other word for this, schlumped. “Marinette?”

“What if we stayed here? Or found another spot to sit in I just- They’re all so  _ happy.  _ And  _ settled. _ ”

“And you’re not?”

“Are you?” They looked at their respective drinks, then each other.

“Touch é.” Adrien brought his glass to his lips but was intercepted by Marinette who grabbed his glass, shot him an apologetic look and took a large sip. They locked eyes briefly, and he handed her the rest of the drink. She eyed him, curiously. “There’s only one sip left anyway. Just promise me that you’ll eat something soon so you don’t lose your mind, okay?” She grinned and tossed back the remaining dark amber liquid.

“Ok that is all I’m drinking I swear. You’re starting to look funny…” She gripped the bar and tilted her head to the left, and Adrien was struck with the realization that, if this girl continued to be this adorable, he would be  _ fucked _ . Royally. “Tell me, Agreste. Do you like fries?” He cleared his throat.

“Yes. Yeah. Uh huh, yes I do in fact. Like fries,” he stuttered and a lazy grin spread across her face. 

“Alright, you and I are going to go get some. Like now.”

“Now?”

“Right now, Agreste,” she grabbed his hand and pulled him in the direction of the door, leaving him just enough time to throw down some money for their drinks as they retreated.


End file.
